François Choquette

[Canada-Jordan Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, March 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my hon. colleague on her fine speech and her excellent comments.

I would like to mention once again that the NDP will be supporting this bill, so that it can be studied in committee. It must be reviewed in committee to ensure that it adheres to some very important principles.

Consider, for example, the famous chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA. I need not remind you that this chapter has been extremely harmful here in Canada, particularly as regards the environment.

In Canada, chapter 11 has given rise to lawsuits. Certain multinationals have sued the Canadian government to demand, for example, the right to use certain chemical products, contrary to our desire to protect the environment.

I would also like to know whether my hon. colleague thinks it important to ensure in committee, for example, that the environment will be protected and that we will not be facing a problem such as that caused by NAFTA’s chapter 11.

[Canada-Jordan Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, March 1st, 2012]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent speech. I have some concerns about the free trade treaty. I always go back to NAFTA and its famous chapter 11, which has permitted multinationals to sue the Canadian government and other governments attempting to protect the environment. There have been some famous lawsuits in Canada. Certain multinationals have sued the Canadian government, which has had to compensate those multinationals in the millions and billions of dollars because it tried to prevent them, for example, from using chemicals hazardous to the environment and to human health.

This is one of my concerns. I hope my colleague will agree with me that it is absolutely necessary to ensure, when this free trade treaty is studied in committee, that our workers and our environment are protected.

[Canada-Jordan Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, March 1st, 2012]

Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his excellent speech. We are indeed showing openness here, by moving forward and allowing this bill to be sent to committee to be improved and refined. I have a concern with this bill in terms of NAFTA's famous chapter 11, of which everyone is aware. Not only is it still detrimental to our workers, it is also detrimental to the environment. Unfortunately, Canada has been involved in well-known legal challenges. Some private multinational companies have filed lawsuits because of environmental protection legislation.

As we work to analyze this bill, and eventually to study it in committee, would it be important and essential to check whether protecting the environment and the working conditions of our workers at home does not present a problem?

[Points of Order, February 17th, 2012]

Madam Speaker, during members' statements, the member for Peace River mentioned the absence of a member during a vote. I believe this is against the rules of the House. Therefore, I ask that he apologize, especially because he speculated about the reason for the member's absence.

It is even more insulting to think that a member would be absent for political reasons. Consequently, I am asking the member for Peace River to apologize, not only because he breached the Standing Orders, but also because he made assumptions about the member's political ideas. All members have the right to their own political ideas, to articulate these ideas themselves, and to form their own ideas.

[Business of Supply, February 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his speech. I would respond to him by saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. A lot of money can be saved if there is appropriate investment in education. I have figures at hand from 2006. The social and economic costs associated with first nations students who do not reach high school level are estimated at $3.2 billion over 10 years. Investing in and having a good relationship with the first nations is good for both our economy and theirs. What does my hon. colleague think?

[Financial System Review Act, February 14th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague a question about an issue that worries me. This bill does not address one element that is very important to the creation of a more stable economy: regulation of financial speculation and derivatives. I would like to know what my hon. colleague thinks about the billions of dollars that are regularly gambled on the stock markets. These transactions destabilize the economy and do not benefit the people at all.

Why is the Conservative government preventing us from talking about issues that would make for an interesting debate today?

[National Suicide Prevention Week, February 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, this is National Suicide Prevention Week, and I would like to acknowledge the efforts and the exemplary work of all stakeholders, counsellors and volunteers, especially at the Centre d'écoute et de prévention suicide Drummond, which is fighting to eliminate a devastating scourge that affects thousands of Canadians every year.

Heart-breaking human tragedies lie behind the alarming statistics. Consider Marjorie Raymond, the young high school student who was bullied. She believed she could end her suffering by ending her life. Suicide and bullying affect not just the victims, but also their families, their friends and everyone who witnesses them.

Suicide and bullying directly or indirectly affect all of us. We must strengthen the education and prevention programs and provide more support for them. We must show how much we care about the well-being and the personal growth of all Canadians.

As the slogan says, suicide should never be an option.

[Business of Supply, February 2nd, 2012]

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek for his excellent speech. I would like him to comment on the Conservative government's timing of this debate as well as its decision to drop this bomb in Davos before a group of millionaires and billionaires.

What does he make of it? We know that the statistics, taken from actuarial reports dating back to 1990 that were trotted out by the government, have been available for a long time. There is no excuse for not having included this issue in the government's platform. It makes us wonder about this hidden agenda—

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, January 30th, 2012]

What is the total amount of government funding, since fiscal year 2006-2007, up to and including the current fiscal year, allocated within the constituency of Drummond, specifying each (i) department or agency, (ii) initiative or program, (iii) year, (iv) amount?

[Search and Rescue, December 12th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, this government is completely out of touch with the reality facing Canadians. At a time when taxpayers are tightening their belts, certain Conservative ministers are using jets and rescue helicopters as their own personal taxi. It is completely irresponsible. As we know, this is not the first time that the Minister of National Defence has used search and rescue aircraft for personal reasons.

Will the minister finally shed some light on what really happened and tell us how much it cost taxpayers for him to be picked up from his fishing trip on July 9, 2010? How much did it cost?